The Nomading Film Festival – Engage, Explore, Record

Have you been travelling when something out-of-this-world happened, and you thought, “Wow, no one is going to believe this”? Well, the Nomading Film Festival is here to help. Recently, 4 friends founded the film festival aimed directly at travellers, and they’re asking you to:

Engage. Explore. And Record.

Bassam Tarazi has travelled to 40 countries in 30 years, lived abroad, circumnavigated the globe on a ship and even shaken Fidel Castro’s hand. Here is a guest post from him to inspire all Globetroopers to get out there, get out of your comfort zones and start filming your experiences.

Inspired by the idea that travel connects us, the Nomading Film Festival believes that stories caught on film while traveling are some of the most entertaining, educating and authentic, and that these stories should be shared, acknowledged and awarded.

With that in mind, the festival caters to travelers who film, not just filmmakers who travel, and is now open for submissions through until April 30, 2011. Prizes will be awarded in several different categories and include an international trip for 2 with Intrepid Travel and a variety of gear including packs, books and jackets, amongst others.

I can hear you now, “But I’m not a filmmaker!” Yes you are! Film has changed. From Youtube to Vimeo, from the iPhone to the Flip Cam, we’re all filmmakers now. Wired Magazine stated that as of 2010, video makes up 51% of all web traffic in the world. The Internet has allowed us to share our true life moments with the entire world.

For many of you, travel is a huge part of who you are; we are no different. We think of travel less as a leisure activity and more of a chance to explore the planet and engage those living therein. Traveling shapes us. Traveling defines us. Traveling connects us. So our message is, if you have a video story to share, come one, come all. In travel we trust.

We are looking for:

Authentic non-fictional travel experiences. We don’t want you trying to film Rob Roy

We only ask that you leave your comfort zone and press the button that turns on the little red light on your camera. When you leave what you know and get the camera rolling, amazing things tend to happen.

The Nomading Film Festival was our chance to be part of the greater traveling collective whole. We want to meet more of the flock. We want to see more of their stories. Like you, we live to travel anywhere, at any point, to explore during any season, on any continent, and we love sharing these tales with anyone that will listen. Well, now it’s time for you to share them with the world. We are listening and can’t wait to watch.

The Festival itself will be in Brooklyn, NY on June 17-18, 2011 where we will combine the “film” and the “festival” under one roof so fellow nomads can enjoy some summer beverages and meet more of the tribe. It costs $10 to enter (until the end of January, then $20 thereafter) and 10% of submission fees are going to select charities.